Tube Preamp Reviews

Luxman Classic CL-38u preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-channel tubed preamplifier. Line inputs: 4 plus tape loop. Phono inputs: 1 (switchable for MM, high-output MC, or low-output MC). Frequency responses: line, 10Hz–70kHz, +0/–3.0dB; phono, 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.5dB. Input sensitivities: line, 190mV; MM phono, 2.0mV; MC-high phono, 0.3mV; MC-low phono, 0.08mV. Signal/noise (IHF, A-weighted, input shorted): line, >100dB; MM phono, >68dB; MC-high phono, >63dB; MC-low phono, >60dB. Total harmonic distortion: 0.06% (20Hz–20kHz, 1V).
Dimensions: 15.6" (400mm) W by 6.6" (170mm) H by 12" (307mm) D. Weight: 29.7 lbs (13.5kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: G30300001.
Price: $4200. Approximate number of dealers: 30.
Manufacturer: Luxman Corporation, 1-3-1 Shinyokohama Kouhoku Ku, Yokohama, Japan. Web: www.luxman.co.jp. US distributor: On a Higher Note, PO Box 698, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92765. Tel: (949) 488-3004. Fax: (949) 612-0201. Web: www.onahighernote.com.

COMPANY INFO
Luxman Corporation
US distributor: On a Higher Note
PO Box 698
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92765
(949) 488-3004
www.onahighernote.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
worldofsteveUK's picture
Submitted by worldofsteveUK on April 24, 2015 - 5:53am

these reviews and content in general are hitting stereophile.com so quickly now I'm beginning to wonder whether I still need a digital subscription.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on April 24, 2015 - 9:24am
worldofsteveUK wrote:
these reviews and content in general are hitting stereophile.com so quickly now I'm beginning to wonder whether I still need a digital subscription.

This is due to how the calendar crumbles each month.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

worldofsteveUK's picture
Submitted by worldofsteveUK on April 24, 2015 - 10:56am

I was in retail in Canterbury in the early eighties just as Luxman stopped making rather lovely things like the L80V http://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/luxman_l-80_front_panel.jpg which were replaced with bland industrial looking gear. Good to see them back. Thanks for the heads up on the timing, frankly Art is worth the price of admission alone.

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on April 24, 2015 - 6:32am

you've got going on there, Art. I think you'd have to be blind to mistake that Luxman for a Marantz 7.Other than the fact they're both tube preamps with some switches in the middle, I fail to see any cosmetic resemblance whatsoever. the panels are completely different colors, the Marantz cabinet was walnut, the Marantz switches were old fashioned toggles with bakelite knobs,the power switch was an old fashioned slide switch, etc. BTW "C" just meant it came with the cabinet. There was never a Marantz 7A or B., and officially it was always known simply as the Marantz 7.

volvic's picture
Submitted by volvic on April 24, 2015 - 8:23am

Yeah but the digital subscription is so cheap I feel comfortable knowing that Art and others at Stereophile are being supported to continue reviewing such great products. Still have my old Luxman L-450 with digital tuner and cassette deck at my parent's place, after all these years they still run great. Love Luxman's gear and have come full circle on their turntable, once thought it ugly now think it is quite attractive.

ngt1977's picture
Submitted by ngt1977 on April 25, 2015 - 12:59pm

I noticed JA mentioned in the measurement column the CL-38U's polarity is reversed on MC loads. How pervasive is this on other equipment? If it does occur, then shouldn't that information be in the review copy? It's my understanding that polarity can be corrected by reversing the sources RCA/XLR into the troubled (?) unit. Is that true? I admit to knowing very little about checking and compensating for polarity would love further explanation whether that be in the pages of Stereophile or elsewhere. Thanks!

Doctor Fine's picture
Submitted by Doctor Fine on April 25, 2015 - 8:08pm

When RELATIVE POLARITY is miswired the left and right speakers will not agree as to whether the speaker is moving IN or OUT.

One speaker will be playing INWARD notes and the other speaker will be playing OUTWARD notes.

That is because the plus and minus terminals on ONE speaker have the leads REVERSED somewhere in the chain. Unless you bought some really BAD stuff this has occurred by Operator Error and YOU wired one speaker BACKWARDS---YOUR bad.

Positive lead is wired to Minus terminal and Minus lead is wired to Positive terminal. On ONE speaker only.

What John caught is NOT this problem (which would really have messed up the sound terribly and made the bass sound weak as heck)...

John noticed ABSOLUTE POLARITY was miswired.

Which is when ALL the wires are hooked up to the WRONG terminals. On BOTH channels.

So your speakers would play together as they moved IN and OUT. BUT---they would play INTO their cabinets instead of OUT of their cabinets. The speakers would drive the sound INTO the box instead of driving the sound OUT to the air.

It all sounds a bit DEAD when you do that. Exactly as though you were making the sound play INTO the box instead of playing OUT into the room. MUFFLED. Very CLEAR. But MUFFLED.

But not terribly so. It is an effect you really have to pay attention to notice. And have really well set up gear in the first place.

And what is WORSE is that SOME recordings were accidentally encoded with everything reversed. AND BAD RECORDINGS WILL BE PLAYED CORRECTLY WHEN THE POLARITY IS ABSOLUTELY REVERSED.

Just to make all of us crazy. Haha.

But anyway---It is there. It is real.

But probably NOT the first thing you might hate about your new Stereo.

I once accused Benchmark of having their phase reversed on the DAC1. Their engineer called me back and said: "wrong." "It is NOT wired wrong."

Then I triple checked my setup and damn it---MINE was wired backwards.

Oh well. I will never live down the shame...

And life goes on.

Wayne McDermott's picture
Submitted by Wayne McDermott on May 20, 2015 - 11:10pm

Great article, great enough to make me want to buy one. However, the Luxman agent in Australia is not going to stock them, the Luxman agent in the UK is not going to stock them and "On a higher note" won't reply to my webform sales query. It is very annoying.

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